What is an oxygen absorber?
An oxygen absorber is a small bag with a content that reacts with oxygen and consumes it. The absorbers come vacuum-packed in an airtight bag. They are completely safe to use when storing food as they do not contain any toxic substances.
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How oxygen absorbers workOxygen absorbers (also called oxygen scavengers) consume oxygen chemically. The small cardboard-wrapped bags contain 80% iron filings and 20% activated carbon. As soon as a bag is exposed to air, the bonding begins. The iron rusts and this process consumes the oxygen. If this happens in a small, closed, airtight environment, all the oxygen will be consumed. This takes a couple of hours. If you feel the bag where the oxygen absorber is located, you will feel that it is warm. |
In plain English: Iron+Oxygen+Water becomes Iron Oxide (rust)
Why oxygen absorbers?
Oxygen is an ingredient for life, but it is also destructive at the molecular level. Oxygen is the cause of rust formation, yellowing of newspapers, and tarnishing of silver.
Oxygen also spoils food, either through oxidation or through oxygen-dependent organisms spoiling the food. This is manifested by unpleasant changes in taste, texture, appearance and nutritional value. These risks are avoided with oxygen absorbers in completely sealed packages.
In addition, the oxygen-free environment effectively kills any insects, larvae and eggs within a few days.
To counteract this, oxygen absorbers should be used when food is to be stored long-term.
Air is 21% oxygen. When you seal a Mylar bag with an oxygen absorber, the air in the bag will be reduced by about 21%. The remaining gases (mainly nitrogen, 78%) are completely harmless to, for example, food stored in the bag. An oxygen-free Mylar bag with food will not look like a vacuum-packed bag, but will shrink somewhat, depending on the amount of air in the bag and what you are packing. If you squeeze as much air out of a bag of peas or rice before sealing it, it will be vacuum-packed, while oatmeal will rarely be, even though both bags are oxygen-free and the contents are protected.
Here you can read more about storage in an oxygen-free environment
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Store your oxygen absorbers in an airtight glass jar with a rubber seal. Then you can easily use them as you need them. |
There is also an oxygen indicator in the bag (see picture 3). This is pink as it is not in contact with oxygen. If oxygen gets into the bag, it turns purple. If you store your oxygen absorbers in a glass jar of the patent type, place this over the jar, then you can see if your oxygen absorbers are fresh or if oxygen has leaked in. | ![]() |